Nap Time or Gymnastics Time?

Getting Emma down for a nap has always been a nightmare, today was no exception.

Backing up, yesterday I had the brilliant idea that Emma and I would get up, eat breakfast, and then head right out to "the big park" which she has been asking to visit for 2 days now in the hopes of tiring her out and making nap time go smoothly. We ended up having a slower morning than intended, but she was happy playing and watching Dora while I did a few chores. At any rate, we were outside at 8:45. Emma sprinted down the steps while I struggled to get the jogging stroller which she had asked to ride in out of the house and down the steps. As she's watching me, she said, "Come on Mommy! Go BIG park, ride swings, go FAST!"

We played at the big park for a while, walked around a pond, played at a smaller park for about 3.5 minutes, and threw leaves off a bridge into the stream. At this point, Emma asked to back to the big park and climbed back into the stroller. When we got there, she DID NOT want to be there...little girl was getting tired! As I pushed her home, she fell asleep and ended up sleeping in the stroller for about 15 minutes. I attempted to transfer her into her bed, but of course she popped right up and was ready for a snack!

After lunch, I could tell she was tired, but was fighting it. I sat with her and watched a Dora hoping that would calm her down. It didn't. She wouldn't let me take her into the cool dark basement and wriggled away from me and back up the steps screaming the whole time. I tried laying down with her in the guest bed, in our bed. Nothing worked. I asked if she wanted her pack and play. She said yes. I put her in, she said, "Bye bye Mommy." So I kissed her and left. Next thing I hear is Emma crying...and it's getting louder, not because she's increasing in volume but because she's getting closer! Little monkey climbed out of her pack and play! I took her back upstairs and put her back in...she immediately vaulted back out. It was pretty impressive. I put her back in and rubbed her back for about 30 seconds and she was out.....finally! Here's hoping she gets a good 2 hours in!